Valve for delivering carbonated beverages



Sept. 30, 1952 N. L. LUSTER 2,612,132

VALVE FOR DELIVERING CARBONATED BEVERAGES Filed April 19, 1946 f/uwiorfer Patented Sept. 30, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEVALVEJFQRPELWERING GABBONATED BEVERAGES" Norman L, Luster, Chicago, 111.A p i a n mine 6 rse elrfle-v fifi 7.Clai 1 ns. (01. 1 37-505) 'a thincircular sheet flowing from a region of hi h- 1 5 4 t fil 1 9 ipwe n e Ihas been .found, however, that this .sheet of water-must be extremelythin in orderto produce the desired result-when used with theconventionalheverage dispensingequipment. In order th his-s e ethin,theona qu d as hfi p di ee etl 9. 1 1 9 a n xed s r c an th 5k W Q l theQu d tQetni ci cu ar ..1T 9 S c h space hrmieh -Whi9h il uiq asses sextremely thin. ma a t i rm t e 1 min int a i mm edimen in .?1E ?-@?b9:11ql d 91955 1 Q fi fill-@311 W 1 1 lifiiiifi' 23.55%-

?Ihe prinoipalobje s of my inventionare to overcome these difiicul sandprevent-the clogans ch -the r fiq h-m ii which the. a n t liquid pilfifi wi h s dim nt b HQYi iiIJl a-va qr del verin er enai dli ui in hform o a thin film, which valve hasawariable constriciiQP Whic -O W eand ema in a Wide aop n positio n when the flowso f carbonated fluid h ll l t a s t p l-and u mat c l na row t e Pr determin d'l e ii e en -crbq a ed l ui qw t -ih ou h th a ve- 1 ;A mere; specific object .ofi nyinvention is-to m/ s ea sub ant all c nstan ow. liv r ya-lveoperated-bythe action of-a carbonated l q id n ussie d to beett c to anventional type of soda foun a indraft arm,,which restrictsthe-deliveryorifice of the valve and causes the ca ben te li id o hed liv r d in athin film en thedraf-t ar m valve is turnedon .to,

double .yalve operated by th parbqnated liquid,

to close and provide predetermined restricted passageways when-thecarbonated liquid ,flows into said valve and to open wideto permitgthevalve to clear itself fwhen the flow ofthe-carbonated liquid stops.

These and other objects ofmy inventionyvill appear from time to time asthe following specification proceeds and withnreference lto the ac.-companying drawings wherein: l

Figure, Lshows a valveconstructed in'accord ance vwith my inventionattached-to a soda fountain draft arm of a conventional type;

Figure '2 is an enlarged ectionaLy-iewtaken thr ieh' h valve h n i i ir1 Fi ure 3. s? a m ntar se tiona vi w aken substan iel lel m in lie-.3 oFi u e fi v+ 11seim 'm n e transver sec na w'takeh sub tan ia alon line.4-4 oili ure .3; a K

i u e 5 i a Y e erin a m dified term 91 valve nstructed in ia serda w wth a m vention;

Figure ,6,is a sectionalview ofla valve illustratins anoih sm dified.iemp m i ven en F r ames -19m v ivt lsen sub tan i ll along line-1:541 ofFigures; and

F 7 is eciion wei .a a ve i lu trat n still anotherlierm o in en ion InEigures-J. and? of the drawings .a conven-,-

.tional type oisoda fountain dr aft arm I0 is s n e hews-Pr ded t del veesa brqi ei i s mhe ermeated wate or a t r i 'h 'b carbonated -e e e 1 he i 1 9f which I is controlled. by 'means of .a valye operat:ingl'handle ll ina well ,bnowninanner. A de& livery valve .IZ-eonstructed in-accordance vwith li in en i ns s c-tr s t -the n o a dsdr' t mtaswill.hereina te m clearly -ear as thi e fiqa iqn pceedsa d ienc edb wa n ii-threade on th e -en o sa d d afiia ean penin t i Q iQ tot m-Va spont-fprthe discharge, of the carbonated liquid. Ihe deliveryvalve. i2 is hereinshown as have ins- .central iehtmem Ii h a e nt-an aprture -r or io 1- o t ed'r a aid central member has a central fluidpassageway [,6

with .a restricted dischargenoazle. Said fluid passagewaycommunicateswith a central passagewayulil otsaid draft arm, fordeliveringta f ne stream of carbonated-water when the valve handle I listurned-to one position, which stream o wate ii -req ed or ce ain Soda,f t n s 1 products; a

A valve casing l8. extendsalong and encircles the central member 1,4 andis spaced" therefrom and is secured. thereto in abutting relation withrespect-to the lower end of saiddraft arm by means of a nutl9 threadedon the lower end-of -t e u r h memb and abutt n o to e sa rc -n h win haan .-u e h b 2 op it imme sed nd c t1 1 1 2 4 a n w a P1 1 1 rality ofpassageways 2 2, 2 2 fo rme d in said draft ,arm, for deliveringcarbonated fluid from said clraftarm tothe-deliver-y-valve- I2. Saidchamber i tmeq. #9 3 @11 311 1 1 1 m m e 2.3 having adownwardlyextending flanged portion 2 4, which ls-secured at its lowerend toa spacing member of a substantially QYlindrical-- construction.-I-l [oles A6, 16 are drilled through said spacing member -paraHeIto itsvertical axis, and-form fluidpassageways leading to achamber 21 havinga-valve--disk;3ll of-a double -valve,3l movable there n fi id valyezdi kis ada t d to restrictan 'shown in Figure 2.

ment which may have become lodged between opening 32 leading from saidchamber to radial passageways 33, 33 formed in said spacing member. Saidpassageways 33, 33 lead from said opening 32 to-the inside of the casing13, for discharging carbonated liquid to the atmosphere through thespout formed in the lower end of said casing.

The chamber 21 is formed from a cylindrical member 35, secured to thelower end of the spacing member 25, as by welding, and dependingtherefrom. An annular disk 36 is threaded in the lower end of saidcylindrical member and has a cylindrical bottom member 31 abutting itslower end and mounted on the lower end of the upright central member [4and held in position thereon by means of the nut l9. Said cylindricalbottom member withits closed lower end forms a chamber 39 communicatingwith the chamber 21 and having a valve disk 40 of the double valve 3|movable therein to open or restrict an annular passageway 4| encirclingthe stem of said valve and connecting said chambers together. H

Passageways 42, 42 lead from the chamber 39 to the inside of the casingl3. Said passageways are of a relatively small diameter in comparisonwith diameters of the passageways 33, 33 and are arranged to provide apredetermined back pressure in the chamber 39, which is sufficient toraise the double valve 3| above the bottom of the chamber 39, and tosupport the weight of said double valve.

When the valve handle ll of the draft arm I3 is turned to admitcarbonated fluid through the passageways 22, 22, carbonated'fluid willflow through said passageways to the chamber 2| and through the holes26, 26 in the spacing member 25, to the chambers 21 and 39. The doublevalve 3| being balanced, the carbonated fluid will exert equal pressuresin opposite directions on the facing sides of the disks 30 and 40. Thedistance between said disks is such that the disk .30 will seat on thebottom of the spacing member 25, to restrictor close the opening 32formed therein and the disk'40 will seat on the bottom of the disk 36,to restrict or close the passageway from the chamber 33 to the chamber21. The restricted passageways. 42, 42 leading from the chamber 39 willset up a pressure in said chamber and will provide a back pressure onthe disk' 46 which will .tend to raise said double valve and restrictthe opening 32 leading to the passageways 33, 33, to cause thecarbonated beverage to pass into said opening in the form of a thincircular film and pass to the atmosphere through the passageways 33, 33and the spout formed by the bottom of the casing I3. 7

v When the flow of carbonated fluid is turned on, the double valve 3|will drop of its own weight until the lower end of the stem of saidvalve rests on the bottom of the chamber 39, as is This will allow anysedithe valves and their seats to clear itself from said valves and passon through the valve.

It should here be noted that when the carbonated water is flowingthrough the valve, the passageways 42, 42 are so proportioned that therate of flow of the water through said passageways will 'be such as toprovide enough back pressure to act valve, assuming that the resistanceoffered by the passageways 33, 33 is negligible in comparison with theresistance offered by the passageways 42, 42. Thus when the size of thepassageways 42, 42 is properly determined and fixed, a valve is providedwhich has constant flow characteristics regardless of variations inpressure of the source of carbonated fluid.

In the modified form of my invention shown in Figure 5 a chamber 43 ismounted in a valve casing 44 on the end of a pipe 45. Said pipe isconnected with a source of carbonated fluid and communicates with theinside of said chamber. A limp diaphragm 46 is connected between a topcover 41 for said casing and an upper flanged portion 49 of said casing.An opening 48 is provided in the top of said cover, to relieve saiddiaphragm from air pressure during compression thereof. A stem 56' of adouble valve 5| is mounted on and depends from said diaphragm throughthe chamber 43. A valve disk 52 is threaded on said stem within saidchamber and is adapted to restrict the passage of fluid through anopening 54 in the central portion of an annular member 53, which formsthe top'of said chamber. A valve disk 55 is threaded on the lower end ofsaid valve and is adapted to restrict the passage of fluid through anopening 56 in a bottom portion 5T of said chamber. Said valve stem isalso slidably guided at its lower end in a disk 59, closing the lowerportion of the casing 44. A plurality of restricted passageways 6!], 66extend through said disk for the passage of carbonated fluidtherethrough and througha spout 6|, threaded on the lower end of saidvalve casing and depending therefrom.

When carbonated fluid flows through the pipe into the chamber 43 and outof the openings 54 and 56 formed in the top and bottom of said chamber,the restricted passageways 60, 69 will set up a pressure within thecasing 44, which willact on the diaphragm 46. This will cause saiddiaphragm to raise the double valve 5|, to restrict the flow ofcarbonated fluid through the openings 54 and 56 and cause the fluid topass through said openings in the 'form of thin circular films. Itshould here be understood that said double valve will be raised by saiddiaphragm until an equilibrium position will be reached which isdetermined by the size of the passageways 66, 66. When this equilibriumposition has been reached, the rate of flow of the carbonated fluid willbe such as to establish a pressure in the casing 44, which is sufiicientto support the weight of said double valve.

In the form of my invention shown in Figures 6 and '7, a valve 663 issecured to and depends from a conventional type of draft arm in much thesame manner the valve |2-is secured to the lower end of the draft armH). In this form of my invention, carbonated fluid enters a cham--ber6||lat the upperend of said valve and passes downwardly through aplurality of vertically extending passageways 63, 63 formed in anintermediate member 64 of said valve, which lead through saidintermediate member into an annular chamber 65. Said annular chamber isformed by a member 66 threaded in the lower end of the intermediatemember '64. Saidmember 66 encircles and is spaced from the' stem of adouble valve 61. Said double valve has a valve disk 69 on its upper end,movable in a chamber 16 in the lower end of said'intermediate member.Said chamber communicates with a plurality of radial passageways 12, 72disposedabove said chamberand leadingto the. outsidepf said .valve intoacasingl3. .Said valve .disk is-adapted t restrict the passageway fromsaid chamber to said :radial passagewaysand to deliver "the fluid tosaid passageways in the form of a thin film. Said :casing is similar tothecasing 13 shown in Figurel and-is threaded on anddepends-fromanannular flanged member 68, which iscthreaded on the upper .end -o'f.theintermediate .member 64, and abuts the bottom of :the draft arm. .Aspout T4 is'formed attheilower end of said casing, fforthe discharge ofoarbonated :fluid.

A plurality of apertures 15, :15 lead through the-member 66 from thechamber65to the chamber-l0, just-beneath the disk 69 of the doublevalvet'l, and are so arrangedjthat Jets ofca-r bonated fluid passingtherethrough will exert a direct pressure on said valve disk'to movesaid valve upwardly into position to restrict the passage of carbonatedfluid from said chamber to rthe'passageways 1-2, 12 and form a thinori.-= fice tocause the carbonated fluidto pass tosaid passageways inthe form of a thin circular film. Carbonated'fiuid will also pass inthe-space'between said-member andthe stem of the valve 61 into a chamberH disposed beneath said memberj66. Said chamber 11 is held in abuttingrelation with respect to the bottom of the member 66 by means of a nut19 threaded on the lower end of a central upright member 80 of saidvalve, which is similar to the upright central member l4 of-the-valve12.

The chamber H has a lower disk 8| of the double -valve 61movabletherein, torestrict the passageway leading from said chamber tothe chamber 10. A pluralityof restricted passageways 83, 83'lead fromsaid chamber 11 -to the inside of the casing 13, to cause a pressure tobe builtup in said chamber, which will tend to move said double valvevertically-and hOldi't insequilibrium in much the'same manner asin theform of my invention shown in FigureZ.

Itmay here be seen that in the embodiment of myinvention just-described,the jets of carbonated'fluid entering the chamber 10 directed upwardlyagainst the underside of the valve disk 69'will lift said valve diskwiththefirst surge of carbonated 'water, and will bring said valve intoposition where the back pressure thereon will become efiectiveto hold itin this elevated position.

In the form of my invention shown in Figure 8, a chamber-85 is shown'asbeingsupporte'd within a valve casing 86 one pipe al whichis adapted tosupply carbonated-fluid to said chamber inmuch the same manner-as in theform of my invention shown in Figure 5. Said chamber is of asubstantially cylindrical form with an annular top 88 and an annularbottom ;89. The opening in said-annular top ,is adapted to'be restrictedby a valve disk 90 mounted within said chamber on the upper end of ahollow valve stem-9i. Said valve stem is slidably mounted on a rod 92,which extends through and is secured to thetop of the ,casing..8B,-bymeans of a nut 93 threaded on the upper end of saidrod and abutting thetop of said valve casing. A nut 94 threaded on the lowerendofsaid rodlimits downwardrmovement of said-valve along said rod. A valve disk 95ismounted adjacent the. lower end of said valve stem and isadapted to,restrict the opening in ,the ,bottom ofsaid chamber. Said valve disk isof a larger diameter than'the valve disk 90, but the portion of saidvalve disk exposed directly to pressure in said chamber is; .ofsubstantiall time Etta: as :the correspondingportio .of he valv. .15890,120 balance said valve.

When carbonated fluid enters the chamber .35 through the pipe 81, thepressure between the upper surfaceof the .valve disk 95 and the bot-.tom 89 ofsaid chamber-will be reduced elow the pressure in-the valvecasing 86 by the ra id fiowbf the carbonated fluid between these twosurfaces. 'This will produce a suction-which will cause the avalve disk9.5 to. move towards the bottom :89 of said chamber and move the valvedisk 90 upwardly to form ,a thin orifice which will restrict the flow ofcarbonated fluid from theu-pper end of said chamber and cause-it'to flow.into the casing 86 in the form of a, thin film. The orificeibetween thevalve disk 95 and bottom -,of the chamber will likewise be ;re-.stricted-to deliver carbonated fluid in the form of a :thin film. Whenthe flow of carbonated fluid through the pipe, .81 stops, the valvedisks and .will drop to a wide open position-to permit sediment to washthrough the valve.

While I have hereinshown and described, sev-. eral forms in whichmy'invention may be em-.- bodied, it will lie-understood that theconstruction thereof and'the arrangement of the various parts maybe-alteredwithout departing-from the spirit-and scope thereof.Furthermore, -Ido not wish to beconstrued as limiting my invention tothe, specific embodiments illustrated, excepting as;it maybe limitedlathe-appended claims.

:I claim as myinvention:

1, 'In a delivery means for carbonated fluid, a chamber, a substantiallyunrestrictedpassagee way leading from one wall of said chamber,vanotherchamber, an unrestricted passageway connecting said chamberstogether and passing through-an opposite wall of said first'mentionedchamberfrom said onewall, a double valve-having-a valve member ineach ofsaidchambers-and each cooperating with an unrestrictedpassageway leadingfrom the respective chamber and the wallsuthrough which said passagewaysextend to form thin delivery spaces, delivering the carbonated fluidthrough said passageways in the formcf thin film-like sprays,said-second mentioned chamberhaving a restricted passageway leadingtherefrom, to build up pressure in said second mentioned chamber to acton said valve in said second mentioned chamber and move said valvestowardthe walls through which said passageways extend, and conduitmeansdelivering carbonated fluid tosaid first mentioned chamber.

12; A.-:delivery means for carbonated fluid in accordance with claim 1wherein the conduit means comprises passageways arranged to. directjetssof parbonatedlfluid on thebottom or-the valve-member in thefirstmentioned chamber.

33.111 :a delivery means for carbonated fluids, a chamber having twovertically 1 spaced -hor'izcntal :walls, a passa w y le in "from one .ofw, ls,;a.pipe del-ivering carbonated fiuidto said she. H anotherch-amber; disposed beneath said first chamb r, a p ssa ewa leadin fromthezcth r .e said W ll .cc i ecti s said-ch b rs vto. g et1t1er,-;awamber in each :of sai c ambers and coQr rat witbsaidassa eways to restr-t pas a e e earbqu te wat r t ere.- through, means connecting saidvalve members to .move to ether to :wide open positions by ravity. and ad se nd e tioned chamber ha.- ing a--restricted passageway leading=theand .-s prop rti -n d -.w tb respect to said r passag ways s up upmde em beet pressure in said second chamber to act on said valve member insaidsecondchamber' andmove said valve members upwardly toward saidhorizontal walls and the passageways therethrough and to cooperatetherewith and form thin flow spaces for the carbonated fluid, formingthe carbonated fluid into thin film-like sprays.

I 4. A delivery means for carbonated fluids including two verticallyaligned chambers, means for delivering carbonated fluid to the upper ofsaid chambers, a substantially unrestricted passageway leading from anupper wall of said upper chamber, a substantially unrestrictedpassageway leading through an upper wall of the lowermost of saidchambers and connecting said chambers together, a restricted passagewayleading from the lowermost of said chambers and so proportioned withrespect to said last mentioned unrestricted passageway as to build uppressure in said lowermost chamber, a separate valve niemher in each ofsaid chambers, means connecting said valve members to move together,said valve member insaid lowermost chamber being acted upon by thepressure of carbonated'fluid built up therein, and move said valvemembers against gravity toward the unrestricted passageways leadingthrough the walls of said chambers, and said valve member in said upperchamber being of alarger cross sectional area than said passagewaythrough the upper Wall thereof, to form with said wall a thin deliveryspace to deliver carbonated fluid through said passageway to a region oflow pressure in the form-of a thin filmlike spray when said valve memberis moving against gravity.

' 5. A delivery means for carbonated liquids including two verticallyaligned chambers, means for delivering carbonated fluid to the upper ofsaid chambers, a substantially unrestricted passageway leading from anupper wall of said upper chamber, a substantially unrestrictedpassageway leading through an upper wall of the other of said chambersand connecting. said chambers together, a valve disk ineach of saidchambers of a larger cross sectional area than said passageways andcooperating therewith, a stem connecting said valve disks to operatetogether, a restricted passageway leading from the lower of saidchambers and so proportioned with respect to said unrestrictedpassageways as to build up pressure in said upper chamber to move saidvalve disks against gravity toward said walls, and with said walls andpassageways form thin delivery spaces to deliver the carbonated fluid toa region of low pressure in the form of a thin film-like spray.

6. In a delivery means for carbonated fluid, a valve chamber, means forsupplying carbonated fluid to said valve chamber, said valve chamberhaving annular top and bottom surfaces-for the discharge of carbonatedfluid therefrom through the open portions of said annular surfaces, asecond valve chamber mounted beneath said valve chamber and adaptedto'receive carbonated fluid discharged through the annular bottomsurface of said first valve chamber, a balanced double valve having avalve disk mounted within said first mentioned chamber and movable intoposition-to form a thin orifice between the top of said valve disk andthe bottom of said top annular surface of said chamber to delivercarbonated fluid through the open portion of said annular surface in theform of a thin film-like spray, a valve stem depending from said valvedisk into said second valve chamber and having another valve diskmounted thereon in said secand chamber and movable into position to forma thin orifice between the bottom of said bottom annular surface'and thetop of said valve disk to deliver carbonated fluid into said secondchamber through the open portion of said annular surface in the form ofa thin film-like spray, and said second valve chamber having a pluralityof restricted passageways therein for the discharge of carbonated fluidtherethrough, said passageways being so proportioned as to restrict thepassage of carbonated fluid therefrom and to build up a back pressuretherein, to act on said lower valve disk and move said valve disks intopositions to form said thin orifices, said valve disks moving downwardlyto wide open positions when the flow of carbonated fluid into saidchambers stops. 1

7. In a delivery means for carbonated fluid, a valve chamber havingannular top and bottom surfaces for the discharge of carbonated fluidtherefrom through the open portions of said annular surfaces, a secondvalve chamber mounted beneath said first valve chamber and adapted toreceive carbonated fluid discharged through the annular bottom surfaceof said first valve chamber, said second valve chamber having aplurality of restricted passageways therein for the discharge ofcarbonated fluid therethrough, and said passageways being soproportioned as to restrict the passage of carbonated fluid therefromand to build up a pressure in said second chamher, a balanced doublevalve having a valve disk mounted within said first mentioned chamberand movable into position to form a thin orifice between the top of saidvalve disk and the bottom of said top annular surface of said chamber todeliver carbonated fluid through the open portion of said annularsurface in the form of a thin film-like spray, a valve stem dependingfrom said valve disk into said second valve chamber and having anothervalve disk mounted thereon in said second chamber and movable intoposition to form a thin orifice between the bottom of said bottomannular surface. and the top of said valve disk to deliver carbonatedfluid through the open portion of said annular surface in the form of athin film-like spray, to cause the car bonated fluid to build up apredetermined back pressure therein, and passageways for the carbonatedfluid leading into said first chamber and arranged to direct jets ofcarbonated fluid on the bottom of said upper valve disk, to initiallymove said double valve into position to form said thin orifices leadingout of said first valve chamber, the back pressure on said lower valvedisk in said second chamber serving to hold said valves in saidpredetermined position, and said valve disks moving to a wide openposition to permit said valvesto clean themselves when the fiow ofcarbonated fluid into said chambers stops.

NORMAN L. LUS'IER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are. of record in the file ofthis patent:

v UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Rice Jan. 2, 1940

